Advances Suggest Possible Cures for Ebola and Marburg Virus

Ebola and its relatives, like Marburg virus, above, are considered among the most fearsome in nature. People infected with these long, wire-shaped filoviruses often bleed to death from every orifice, so the bugs make ideal villains for apocalyptic films like “Outbreak” and “28 Days Later.”

The infections are considered incurable, but several advances have been made in laboratories suggesting that cures may be possible. None have been tested in the field yet.

Late last month, scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases reported that two well-known cancer drugs used against leukemia, Gleevec and Tasigna, prevented Ebola virus from replicating in a lab colony of human kidney cells.